This holiday season, about 42 percent of the country’s population will buy gifts over the Web to avoid the masses at the mall, according to a Consumer Reports survey. Online research firms eMarketer and Forrester Research, Inc. both predict that holiday online sales in the U.S. will total more than $30 billion this year, a 15 to 20-percent growth from last year. It is critical, then, that consumers know how to protect their personal information.
Alex Mock, webmaster of the online Duck Store, said there are several ways for consumers to make sure a retailer is trustworthy before typing in any credit card numbers.
First, they should become acquainted with the Web site. Before proceeding to the checkout, Mock said, look for the company’s secure sockets layer certificate, which can usually be accessed from the Web site’s security or privacy section. The SSL certificate, usually issued by a company called VeriSign, ensures that the Web site will protect your personal information during a transaction.
Mock also said to make sure the Web site provides contact information, “which sounds silly, but if it’s some unique item on an obscure Web site, you never know.”
Once you’re convinced the online company is reachable and secured, it’s safe to proceed to checkout. Before entering any information; however, make sure the beginning of the Web site’s URL starts with “https” and not the usual “http.”
“That means you’re on a secure Web site,” Mock said. “At that point, your information is protected.”
Although many will favor obscure items from little-known sites over generic gifts from large chains, the latter is more practical and probably guarantees a much safer shopping experience.
“Large brick-and-mortar stores’ Web sites are usually pretty safe,” Mock said. For example, “I’ve had good luck with Target.com and I’ve heard good things about it from other people.”
Target’s online store will also predict an order’s shipping price so that customers don’t get a shock when they see their receipt.
Mock said online stores like Amazon and eBay are “a little bit of a risk” because the products come from different places and, in eBay’s case, different people.
“I have heard some nightmare stories of people ordering things under false pretenses,” Mock said.
Since there’s always a risk that you’ll end up spending a lot of money on something that doesn’t exist, it’s important to keep records of all your purchases, just like you do with receipts at brick-and-mortar stores, said Tracy Tierney with Yahoo! Shopping. If you have a proof of purchase, you’ll be able to get refunded.
Tierney also said instincts and common sense play a large part in safe online shopping. Expensive gifts like iPods and designer purses are probably better bought in large department stores because it’s impossible to judge a product’s authenticity online. Also, make sure the price matches the caliber of the product.
“If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” Tierney said.
The PC Tools Malware Research Center reported in 2006 that, as holiday online shopping increased, so did the amount of Internet cyber thieves. An increase in spyware, viruses that infect computers and sometimes grant hackers access to personal information, means shoppers must be more wary than ever.
PC Tools, a security software company, recently introduced a new generation of Spyware Doctor, its most popular anti-spyware program. Vice President of Product Strategy Michael Greene recommended holiday shoppers download and update anti-spyware products on their computers before giving out any information online.
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